Drapery holder and pleater



Oct. 10, 1950 D. R. CALVANI DRAPERY HOLDER AND PLEATER 2 She ets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 12, 1949 INVENTOR' Dena B (19:. mm

ATTORNEYS D. R. CALVANI DRAPERY HOLDER AND PLEATER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fil ed Oct. 12, 1949 ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 10, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,524,958 DRAPERY HOLDER AND PLEATER Demo R. Calvani, Hazelton, Pa.

Application October 12, 1949, Serial No. 120,991

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to draperies and has more particular reference to a device for holding a drapery and forming a plurality of spaced groups of French pleats along its upper edge.

One object of the invention is to provide a novel drapery holder and pleater having means for supporting the drapery and forming a plurality of spaced groups of plural French pleats along its upper edge.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel drapery holder and pleater, as characterized above, in which the drapery is secured to the device by pin or spring action, or both.

Another object of the invention is to provide a drapery holder and pleater, ascharacterized above, having provision at each end thereof for taking care of any excessive width of the drapery .so that draperies of various widths may be taching it to a curtain rod or any other suitable type of supporting device. V

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel'drapery holder and pleater which is simple and economical in construction, easily applied to the drapery, and efficient inuse, and one which givesthe drapery an authentic appearance of a sewn drapery having spaced groups of French pleats. f I 7 Other objects and advantages of :the invention will appear'in the following specification when considered with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is an elevational viewof a drapery mounted on a drapery holder and pleater constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view, with parts broken away, of one form of a drapery holder and pleater constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the drapery holder and pleater. shown in Fig, 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4' of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of another form of drapery holder and pleater constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view showing the manner in which the drapery holder and pleater the like; and

Fig. '7 is a vertical sectional view showing another form of mounting device for the drapery holder and pleater shown in Fig. 5.

The present invention provides a device for holding a drapery or the like and forming a plunality of spaced groups of French pleats along the upper edge portion thereof. The device carries attaching means for removabl securing it to a curtain rod or other suitable support for mounting the drapery in place.

In general, the device comprises an elongated member, in the form of a narrow, flat strip or a rod, made of any suitable material and having alternating sections of straight stretchesv or reaches and groups of forwardly extending spaced projections having forwardly opening recesses or bights therebetween, the construction being such that when the upper edge portion of a drapery is mounted on the member with folds of the material of the drapery'inserted in the bights and held against the stretches or reaches between the groups of bights, the drapery will have an authentic appearance of asewn drapery having a plurality of spaced groups of French pleats.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, one embodiment of a drapery holder and pleater constructed in accordance with the present invention and comprising an elongated member [0, made of any suitable material such as wood, metal, or plastic, and made up ofwalternating'sections of straight stretches or reaches II and groups I2 of forwardly extending spaced projections I3 having forwardly opening substantially U-shaped recesses or bights 14 therebetween; and fastener elements 15 carried by the member for securing it to any suitable support, such as a curtain rod or the like.

In this particular embodiment of the inventionillustrated, the member It is shown as being made of thin, resilient strip metal with the forwardly extending projections I3 in the form of resilient loops, four such loops being shown in each group, providing three forwardly opening recesses or bights l4 in each' group. The right hand end portion N5 of the strip [9, as viewed in Fig. 2, extends rearwardly as a continuation of the outer leg of the first loop in the first right hand group of loops and in a plane normal to the strip, and has its free end bent forwardly on itself to form a loop ll having a bight I8.

The left hand end portion H) of the strip 59, as viewed in Fig. 2, extends as a continuation of the outer leg of the last loop in the last left hand group of loops and is bent to the right to extend in a plane parallel to the body of the strip I6 and has its free end bent on itself to the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, to form a loop 26 having a bight 2|.

Suitable means are provided for securing the holder and pleater to any suitable support, such as a curtain rod or the like. In the particular embodiment shown, conventional hook hangers I are secured in holes 22 formed in the strip if! at spaced intervals.

Draperies usually are made of standard widths, either 48 or 52", and usually have a hem formed along their top and bottom edges. Theholder and pleater is designed to hold and pleat draperies of either of the standard widths, or of any width. In mounting a drapery on the device, one side of the top of the drapery is inserted in the bight [8 of the loop If, the upper edge portion of the drapery is then placed across the front of the strip I0 and, by use of a paper opener or knife, or any suitable instrument, the material of the drapery is forced into the recesses or bights l4 formed in the first group of forwardly extend ing projections or loops 13 which hold the folded material of the drapery therein by their resilient clamping action. Then, the material is held against the stretch or reach I l of the strip I0 between the first and second group of loops and then the adjacent portion of the drapery is forced into the bights M in the second group of loops. In similar manner, the material is forced into all of the bights M in all of the groups of loops with the material between the groups resting against the stretches or reaches of the strip It! between the groups. Any excess width of the drapery is taken care of by being folded around the left hand end of the device and inserted in the bight 2| of the loop and held therein by the resilient clamping action of the loop. When the drapery has been mounted on the holder and pleater, as above described, it will have the appearance of a sewn drapery having spaced groups of French pleats, as shown in Fig. 1. v

When the drapery is mounted on the device, as above described, the upper edge of the drapery is made to project above the upper edge of the device, as shown in Fig. l, and in dotted lines in Fig. 4, so that the device will be completely concealed by the drapery.

While the folds of the drapery will be held in the bights of the loops by a resilient clamping action, it may be desirable to provide additional means for holding them in place. In the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated, additional means for holding the folds of the drapery in the bights of the loops are provided by forming horizontally aligned holes 23 in the side walls of each of the loops in each group and inserting a headed pin 24 through the holes and the folds of the drapery held therein, thus positively securing the drapery on the device.

The particular device shown is a right hand device, i. e., adapted to be mounted on the right hand side of a window for holding the right hand side drapery. A left hand device would be identical in construction except that the ends would be reversed. In this connection, it should be noted that the particular means provided for securing the device on a curtain rod or other suitable support, i. e., the curtain hooks [5, may be reversed to permit the device to be used as either a right or left handed device.

While this particular embodiment of the drapery holder and pleater has been shown as having only three French pleat forming bights in each group, obviously, any number of bights may be contained in each group to form as many pleats as desired. Also, the length of the stretches or reaches between the groups of bights and the depth of the bights may be varied to give any desired esthetic effect to the drapery.

Another embodiment of a drapery holder and pleater constructed in accordance with the present invention is shown in Figs. 5, 6 and '7. As there shown, the device comprises an elongated, narrow, flat L-shaped member 25, having its long leg made up of alternating sections of straight stretches or reaches 26 and groups 21 of forwardly extending spaced projections 28 having forwardly opening substantially U-shaped recesses or bights 29 therebetween; fastener elements 30 carried by the member for securing it to a suitable support, such as a curtain rod or the like, and clips 31, 32 secured at opposite ends of the member for holding the upper outer edges of a drapery mounted on the device.

The member with the projections 28 may be made of any suitable material and in any suitable manner, preferably, and as shown in this modification, they are made of plastic material and moulded to the particular form shown in the drawings.

While any suitable means may be provided for securing the member 25 to a suitable support, in this particular embodiment, spaced fastener elements or hooks are employed. The hooks 30 are preferably made of metal and are stamped to the configuration shown. In Fig. 6, a hook 30 carrying the member 25 is shown attached to a curtain or drapery rod 33.

In the event the member 25 is to be mounted on the wall or part of the window frame, fastener elements or hooks 34, such as shown in Fig. 7, may be employed. This type of hook comprises an elongated shank 35 provided with wood screw threads 36 at one end and a U-shaped bracket 31 at the other, so that the member 25 will be supported spaced from the wall or window as shown in Fig. 7.

The clips 3| and 32 for holding the outer and inner upper edges of the drapery may be of any suitable construction. In the particular embodiment shown, they are identical in construction, being stamped from sheet metal to the configuration shown and each comprises a base member 38 having an integral S-shaped tongue 39 pressed outwardly therefrom. The clip 3| is secured adjacent the rear outer end of the short leg of the L-shaped member 25 and the clip 32 is secured to the front right hand end of the long leg of the member 25, as viewed in Fig. 5.

In mounting the drapery 0n the device shown in Fig. 5, one side of the top of the drapery is secured beneath the tongue 39 of the clip 3|, the upper edge portion of the drapery is then placed across the front of the member 25 and, by use of a paper opener, or any suitable instrument, the material of the drapery is forced into the recesses or bights 29 formed in the first group of forwardly extending projections 28 which hold the folded material of the drapery therein by their resilient clamping action. Then, the material is held against the stretch or reach 26 0f the member 25 between the first and second groups of projections and then the adjacent portion of the drapery is forced into the bight 29 in the second group of forwardly extending projections.

In similar manner, the material is forced into all of the bights 29 in all of the groups of forwardly extending projections with the material between the groups resting against the stretches or reaches 26 of the member 25 between the groups.

The inner upper end of the drapery is secured beneath the tongue 39 of the clip 32 and any excess width of the drapery is taken care of by being folded before being secured beneath the tongue of the clip 32. In connection with the foregoing, it should be noted that the enlarged rounded outer ends of the forwardly extending projections 28, as shown in Fig. 5, facilitate the insertion of the drapery in the bight's'without danger of tearing the drapery and-increase the resilient clamping action of the projections.

When the drapery is mounted on the device, as above described, the upper edge of the drapery is made to project above the upper edge of the device so that the device will be concealed by the drapery.

While the folds of the drapery will be held in the bights or recesses 29 by the resilient clamping action of the projections 28, it may be desirable to provide additional means for holding them in place. In this particular embodiment of the invention, additional means for holding the folds of the drapery in the bights 29. of the member 25 are provided by forming horizontally aligned holes 40 in the forwardly extending projections 28 in each group and inserting an elongated headed pin 4! through the hole and the folds of the drapery held therein. In this connection, it should be noted that the holes All are located adjacent the inner ends of the projections 28 so that the portions of the pin l! extending across the reaches 26 will be behind the drapery and not exposed to view.

The particular device shown in Fig. 5, is, a left hand device, i. e., adapted to be mounted on the left hand side of a window for holding the left hand drapery. A right hand device would be identical in construction except the ends would be reversed. In this connection, it should be noted that the particular means provided for securing the device on a curtain rod or other suitable support, i. e., the curtain hooks 30, may be reversed to permit the device to be used as either a right or left handed device.

While this particular modification has been shown as having only two French pleat forming bights 29 in each group, obviously, any number of bights may be contained in each group to form as many pleats as desired. Also, the length of the stretches between the groups of bights and the depth of the bights may be varied to give any desired esthetic effect to the drapery.

Having thus described the invention, what isclaimed is:

1. A device of the character described for forming and holding a plurality of spaced groups of French pleats in a drapery, comprising an elongated strip of material carrying a plurality of spaced groups of closely spaced, forwardly extending, resilient projections, with straight portions of the strip connecting the base portions of adjacent groups of said projections; the projections in each group providing narrow U-shaped recesses therebetween adapted to receive the folds of the drapery therein to impart a French pleat appearance thereto; and said groups of projec-- tions having alined openings adjacent to their inner ends to receive a pin extending through the folds of the drapery inserted in said recesses.

2. A device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein one end of said strip has a rearwardly extending arm; a clamping member carried by the rear end of said arm for holding one edge of a drapery; and a clamping member carried by the other end of the strip t clamp the other edge of the drapery thereto.

DEMO R. CALVANI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,236,017 Stratton Mar. 25, 1941 2,409,425 Falkenberg Oct. 25, 1946 

